


It’s Hard To Look Right At Ya, Baby

by everydayescapeartist



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Braime AU, Braime Banter, College AU, F/M, Mild Profanity, References to loss, because the world is dark and full of terrors, bestie sansa, blind date fic, jaime is awkward but also smooth, kind of, light fluffy shit, love at first conversation, love at first research study, suggestive number usage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25082608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everydayescapeartist/pseuds/everydayescapeartist
Summary: She only does it because it’s for Sansa’s Psychology Research class and because Sansa promises her anonymity will be kept and because Sansa is her best friend.  She only has to talk through ten questions with the guy on the other side of the computer.  It doesn't matter what they look like.  It doesn't matter what they say.  They're never going to meet anyway.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 53
Kudos: 217





	It’s Hard To Look Right At Ya, Baby

**Author's Note:**

> I heard “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen playing the other week and the title line and this idea popped into my head (just like the song niggled itself back into my brain again after so long...probably yours too now...sorry). If you’re a psych student, please don’t be offended by my likely butchering of the research study process. I know there are also reality shows that do something like this, though I have yet to watch them. Anyway, just another way for these goobers to meet. This Westeros has some canon bits to it but also mixes with our modern world, as you’ll see. I own nothing - none of the characters, none of the music, movies, or quotes mentioned…you know how it goes. I hope you enjoy this bit of self-indulgent fic and happy 4th to those in the U.S.!

She only does it because it’s for Sansa’s Psychology Research class and because Sansa promises her anonymity will be kept and because Sansa is her best friend. Also the pleading that verges on whining and the generous bribery. The idea isn’t particularly original but it is a study from which Sansa can collect and interpret data and that is the main point anyway, that she should get experience making a hypothesis, designing and implementing a study, and presenting on the results. Sansa’s study has to do with what assumptions persons will make about each other if only able to meet and talk sight unseen. She will look at how depth of voice correlates with perceived attractiveness and perceived intelligence, how number of words uttered with the conversation correlates with the same, etc. For control purposes, participants will be given the same set of questions to discuss with one another and none of them will overtly steer someone toward revealing physical characteristics that might taint the study results. In other words, if she were to tell someone she was a tall, leggy blonde, they might guess she was attractive. They’d be wrong, but Brienne appreciates that they are forbidden from making such descriptive self-statements. She also appreciates that the study isn’t about a right or wrong assumption. She’s not being rated on an attractiveness scale to see if anyone can guess her number correctly or anything. It’s just about what factors people focus on when directly seeing the other person isn’t an option and what impression is formed based on those factors.

So, Brienne sits in a quiet room in the academic building that houses the Psych department. She’s watching as Sansa starts the conference call up on the computer in front of them. Brienne questioned why this needed to be done in this building versus just back at her room if it was just going to be done as a virtual meet up anyway but Sansa explained that it was important to try to control any potential outside factors that they didn’t want to influence participants in any way, such as background noise or technical issues. By using the same call app, the same computers, and the same rooms, she and her research partners can better account for study consistency. They’ve also asked participants to use specific entrances and exits, so the person Brienne will speak to will have entered from the opposite wing of the building, such that they shouldn’t see each other prior to the call or after. Apparently, the research students have been able to disable any video conferencing ability and they’re recording the calls anyway, so it’d be obvious to them if participants were attempting to enable it, thus disqualifying them. Brienne has no desire to do that. She just wants to do her part to help Sansa and then put this uncomfortable situation behind her.

When the call connects, it is Sansa’s partner Margaery who answers. It seems some mix of humorous and annoying to Brienne that two of the most attractive females on campus are seeking to learn more about what others find attractive. 

“Researcher A, is participant 6284 ready to meet participant 9245?”

“Yes, researcher B. I will now leave the room, as can you, and the participants may commence.”

They’re really going all out on the anonymity, except of course some of their participants definitely know them. But who is Brienne to criticize the technique? They’ll likely both come away with big, fat A’s anyway. It’s not because they’re beautiful. It’s because they’re whip-smart and beautiful and incredibly likable and that combo has been a successful one for them. 

“Good evening, 6284,” she hears as she’s watching Sansa quietly close the door to the room while waving her hand at her and smiling at her encouragingly. His voice is smooth and somewhat deep. There’s a richness to it. It lies somewhere between warm and cold in tone. She can’t quite tell. 

“Good evening,” she says, trying to sound nonchalant and suspecting she’s failed. She shakes her head at herself and looks down at the piece of paper sitting next to the computer. Now that the call has begun she can turn it over and see the questions they are to discuss. Those she is supposed to ask are highlighted in green. Again, she appreciates just how organized and controlled the study seems. She is meant to ask the first question, she realizes, and so she does. “If you could teleport anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?”

She hears him chuckle. “Sorry. It’s just this situation is a bit awkward and people usually want to escape awkward situations, right? So, it’s just funny that they let us think about escape first thing.”

She smiles a little. “Good point.”

After a beat, he speaks again. “Braavos, to learn more about the life of the faceless men. Seems fitting.”

“I suppose so.” He tries to use humor and wit to interact with people, she surmises. 

“What about you?” he asks.

She recalls Sansa did say only one of them would read each question but that both should answer it. “The Summer Sea.”

“Just right into the sea, huh? I hope you’re wearing your bathing suit.”

“Oh, absolutely. What else would I wear to the psych building?” She rolls her eyes. Typical. Two minutes in and the guy has to go down the ‘what are you wearing?’ route.

“I guess my donut pajamas and fuzzy bunny slippers are misplaced here then.”

That makes her smile a little, against her will. “Actually, I think I have seen that look around here too.”

“Oh, good. So, you’d just wiggle your nose and next thing you know, you’d be splashing around in the middle of the Summer Sea?”

“I’m a very good swimmer.”

“Is that one of your hobbies? That’s actually the next question…what are some of your hobbies?”

“It is one of my hobbies, I guess. I could swim before I could walk.”

“The pools here are really nice.”

“Yes. Definitely a mark in the university’s favor.”

“Other hobbies?”

“Um, reading, hiking, sword fighting, making dioramas…”

“Wait, did you say sword fighting?”

“I did. Rewinding a few comments, did you say I’d wiggle my nose to teleport? Is that the secret to it?”

He chuckles. “I have no idea. It’s just a really old show my aunt liked to watch when I was younger about some red woman who was really more perky than sinister who wiggled her nose to bring about her magic. Random reference. But feel free to try it. If the line falls silent, I’ll know it works.”

“Hmm. Maybe later. We’re only on the second question.”

“True. And I want to know more about the sword fighting…and the dioramas…are the dioramas of sword fighting?”

She wonders if she should have mentioned them at all. Is he gearing up to make fun of her? Ah, well. What does she really care? Words are wind. She is trying to answer each question honestly to help her friend out. She guesses expanding a little bit on their answers is fine and expected. “Sometimes they are. They’re of various scenes. Historical scenes often. I volunteer to create them for the local museums.” Some she creates just for herself too but she already thinks she sounds geeky enough. She might as well not get too detailed in her answer.

“So, those scenes that are recreating great battles or key meetings or events in history, you create those?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s really cool. I always enjoy checking out all of the details when I go to the museums. I’ve probably admired some of your work. What got you into that?”

“It was something my dad used to do and something we worked on together.”

“Hm. That sounds like a good father/kid activity. My dad tried to get me into hunting. It was never my thing. Sword fighting on the other hand is something I enjoy. I don’t hear about too many women who like it though. Is that something your dad got you into as well, 6284?"

“Not really. It was more my older brother. I wanted to do everything he did,” she says, thinking fondly of Galladon.

“And now you can kick his ass because of it?” he says with some humor lacing the question.

She's quiet for a moment before answering. The loss of her brother eight years ago to a boating accident is still and will always be somewhat painful. “I wish he were still around for me to know for sure, but I was really getting there before he passed, so maybe.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s been a number of years. But basically, my dad got my brother lessons and after I annoyed him enough he let me join in the lessons too. I enjoyed it…the movements, the excitement, the strategy. And of course I fancied myself some kind of warrior or knight. I just practice these days for the exercise and sometimes I’ll do demos for the museum.”

“There are clubs and stuff. Of course, there are a lot of stuffy, old assholes as members. I’ve practiced at some of them. Some friends and I took classes growing up, so we spar sometimes. It is a lost art.”

“Yes, it is.” She ruminates on that for a moment before looking down at the paper in front of her and clearing her throat. “Anyway, is that…I mean sword fighting is a hobby of yours, I guess. Hunting is not. Any other hobbies you want to mention before we move on to the next question?”

“I don’t know. I do a bunch of sports as just ways to hang out with friends…shooting hoops, tossing a football around, that kind of stuff. I like history. I like audiobooks…and somewhat boring documentaries, actually. Oh, and I’m into photography as a hobby. Mostly nature and architecture and the like.”

“Not like pictures of your breakfast on social media?”

He chuckles again and she realizes she rather likes the sound of it, the husky quality. “Well, that depends on whether it was a particularly photogenic breakfast.”

She allows a light laugh at that, smiling as she reads off the third question on the list. “Next question. Oh, that’s appropriate. What’s a food you can’t live without?”

“Can’t live without eating or photographing?”

“Your choice.”

“That’s hard. I’m a big fan of food.”

“Me too.”

“Hmm…maybe steak…and ice cream.”

“Eaten together?”

“Absolutely. You haven’t done that?” he teases.

“No. I usually prefer to put my ice cream on top of Mac ’n cheese.”

“Oh, I think I just gagged a little.”

“About Mac ’n cheese, or the combo?”

“The combo. Separately, those are good. I do eat steak and ice cream separately too, by the way. Though I think you know I was joking.”

“I figured. Mac and ice cream would be my foods…but I don’t eat them together.”

“Whew. Although French fries and soft serve can be a good combo if you’re looking to combine some sweet with some salty.”

“I’ve done that before actually. It is tasty. I thought it was a weird idea until I tried it.”

“Well, glad you were able to broaden your horizons too.”

“Now, I’m a bit hungry.”

“Same. Guess we should move on. Would you rather fight a bear, a wolf, or a dragon? Well, that is really quite random.”

Brienne laughs. “Yes, it is. I guess…a wolf, maybe? It might be easiest to subdue.”

“Maybe so. I don’t know. While I’m no fan of wolves, I might want the glory of fighting a bear or a dragon.”

“It might be very short-lived glory.”

“You know nothing of my bear taming or dragon slaying abilities.”

“This is true. Perhaps they’d sing songs about you.”

“Seems highly likely. Keep an ear out.”

“I will. Are you ready for the next question, 9245?”

“Well, 6284, you know, I’m not sure.”

“Really?”

“Mm. I may need to ruminate on this whole bear or dragon fight scenario some more."

She snorts her amusement and when he doesn’t continue for a moment, she wonders if she’s just lowered her perceived attractiveness score. 

“Yes, that is probably the reaction I’d get from one of those beasts…but they’d be wrong.”

“Would they?”

“Yes. Imagine with me that you have been trapped in a bear pit, walls all around you, a bear staring you down, scratching the ground, and making a variety of intimidating noises. Can you picture it?”

“Yes, although I don’t know why I’d ever be placed in such a situation.”

“That’s beside the point. Stay with me here.”

She laughs but says, “trying,” before waiting to hear him continue.

“I come upon this travesty of a situation and know I have to do something about it.”

“Quite the hero, aren’t you?” she says drolly.

“Is that what you’d say to me when I dropped into the pit and told you to get behind me?”

“I’d probably say ‘I will not.’ How would I have any notion that you’d be any better at fighting off the bear than me?”

“I’d be glowing with my hero-ness and you’d just know.”

“That’s not a real word.”

“Picking on my word choices and yet I’d still save you from that bear.”

“Maybe I’d save you. Maybe I had it all under control.”

She hears him exhale a soft laugh. “Fine. Maybe you did. Maybe we’d just work together to either tame or escape that bear.”

“That would certainly be song worthy.”

“Indeed.” After a long pause in which she imagines he’s still imagining the scene in his head, where she guesses she must just look like some generic maiden, he speaks again. “Okay. Thank you for indulging me. We can move on to the next question now if you want."

“Sure.” She looks back down at the sheet in front of her. "What’s a song or a musical artist that’s left a mark on you or what’s a favorite music-related memory?”

"Pity the song about me or us isn’t out yet.”

“Pity indeed. Not having that to choose, however, I do have one that comes right to mind.”

“Do tell. I’ll think on mine another moment.”

“Okay. I’ll go with ‘Goodnight, My Angel’ by Billy Joel. My dad used to sing it to me. Still does over the phone occasionally. So, it stays with me and it makes me smile when I hear it.” He is silent for another moment. She can’t believe she's sharing personal things like this with a stranger. Maybe that’s why she is.

“That’s really sweet.” He doesn’t seem to be mocking her. He sounds sincere and it warms her a little. “I was going to say I really enjoy Jenny and the Oldstones and a fond memory is seeing them in concert with my younger brother a couple years ago. But you got me remembering further back. My mother used to sing a song to me at night. ’Till We Meet Again’. I think she sang it for years, long before the cancer diagnosis. It’s just…it’s like she knew. I mean, I know that’s not like a mother-son song or anything, but I do watch the clouds sometimes and feel kind of…comforted. That whole, you know, looking down on you from above thing.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I do know what you mean though, I think.”

He clears his throat. “I didn’t mean to get all maudlin on you. The Baratheon Boargers jingle has left a mark on me too. Usually too late at night, surrounded by the growling stomachs of my roommates.”

Brienne laughs at that. “Hot Pie’s Pizza commercials usually find me just before midnight. It’s evil, really.”

“Isn’t it, though? Well, speaking of food again, if you could dine with anyone in history…you knew this one had to be on here…who would you choose and why?”

“Maybe Hot Pie.” At this point, she is somewhat greedily trying to evoke his laughter. It works. She continues with a more serious answer. "I’ve always thought the warrior-queen Nymeria sounded fascinating. I wouldn’t mind learning more of her from her.”

On the other side of the computer, she thinks she hears her conversation partner make a pleased sort of sound. She wonders if she just imagined it. “It’s nice to hear someone choose someone other than one of the Seven or Maester Einstein or something.”

“True,” she muses. “So, who would you choose?"

“Ser Arthur Dayne maybe…to learn more about what being a knight was like.”

“I think Ser Duncan the Tall would have much to share on that subject, so he’d be a good choice too."

“That’s a good thought. Maybe I could have a full-on dinner party…a bunch of knights around a table. Seems like a good time.”

“I might have to crash that dinner party.”

“And then make a diorama of it, I hope.”

“Absolutely.”

“Then I’d have to photograph it.”

“That would be something to get picture proof of."

“It would.”

"Okay, next question. If you could spend an unlimited amount of money at any store, which store would you choose? There’s a note here that says it must be a physical store, not an online store.”

“Damn. They already knew my answer.”

“Probably most people’s answer.”

“Too right. Well, then…maybe somewhere like Dickon’s Sporting Goods. There’s a whole lot there that I’d probably like to buy.”

“Oh, that’s a good choice. Let’s see. I guess I’ll go with somewhere I can get a variety of things. I’ll choose Mace’s.”

“One of the largest department stores. Also a good choice.”

“Why, thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome. Alright, 6284…can I just call you 6, actually?”

“Sure. Should I just call you 9?”

It’s his turn to snort. Brienne blushes, realizing what the two numbers usually bring to mind amongst her friends. “That works, yes. Here’s the next question. If you could possess any supernatural ability, which would you choose and why?"

She wants to say ‘x-ray vision’ so she could see the man attached to that dulcet tone of voice. “Invisibility.”

“Why?”

He doesn’t sound judgmental or suspicious, just curious. She thinks about how she might answer without giving away too much about her physical features or insecurities. “I think there are perks to it. Sometimes there’s someone you don’t want to run into at the store, for instance. If you could make yourself invisible, you could avoid an awkward conversation.”

“You could probably also avoid paying for your groceries.”

“I didn’t say you could make anything else invisible. Someone would probably stop a cart full of groceries just rolling out the door.”

“Probably. Something tells me you wouldn’t try that anyway.”

“You’re right.”

“Hmm, invisibility,” he muses aloud, “this study offers that to an extent. Was that part of the appeal?”

“Maybe. I mean, I don’t know if there was appeal to do this so much as there was strong persuasion from a friend…and a strong appeal to just get said friend to be quiet about it.”

There's that chuckle again. “Are you regretting it?”

“No. It’s fine.”

“I was similarly persuaded, I think,” he offers. “But this has been better than I expected. So, thank you for being easy to talk with.”

Again, she feels that warmth run through her. “Ditto.”

“I don’t know which supernatural ability to choose. Invisibility does have its appeal. I think though, like with this study, you can be seen sometimes without being seen in the traditional sense. Maybe that’s part of the point. There you go, researchers,” he says, just a little bit louder as if trying to speak to the omnipresent research students, “you can use that in your thesis. I won’t mind.”

Brienne laughs at him. “You’re quite clever.” Is she teasing him? Yes, she is. She kind of thinks the assessment is true though.

“Hmph. That’s not necessarily what I’m told too often.”

“I’ve always held to the belief that many people can lay eyes on you but never really see you.”

“Absolutely.”

They sit in thoughtful silence for at least a full minute before she hears him sigh a bit on the other side of the call. “I’m torn between wanting to teleport and wanting to bend time.”

“They’re related. You save time teleporting. I guess you’d just like traveling instantly to different spots in time versus geographically. Is that what you mean?”

“Yeah, I think. It would allow you to stop a moment in time too and maybe to rewind or fast forward. I guess that would get you past one of those awkward store run-ins in a different way, huh?”

“I guess it would.”

“Fine, I’ll go with that. Just interest wise, I’d like to pop around into different time periods in history and check things out. It would also be great to just never be late to anything or be able to do instant redos sometimes.”

“Are you often late to things?”

“No comment.”

They both laugh but then he adds, “No, I’m really not usually late, but sometimes you are and for reasons beyond your control too, so it’d be nice to have some power over that.”

“That makes sense."

“6?”

“Hm?”

“I’m glad I’m making some amount of sense to you.”

“Well, it’s touch and go but we’re muddling through,” she says with mock seriousness.

“You’re so brave.”

“That’s my heroine-ness shining through.”

“Taking my non-word and twisting it to your liking, eh?”

“The better to make sense to you.”

“Ah. A good tactic then."

“I think so. Now…it’s time to talk movies.”

“What about them?”

“Are you the kind of person who can quote movies?”

“Is that the question?”

“No. The question is ‘what is a movie quote that speaks to your life?’”

“Oh, that’s so broad. Where to even begin…are you going to get mad at me if I toss several quotes your way?”

“No, that’s fine.” She can tell he's a bit excited about this question.

“Good. Thank you. Well, let’s see…there’s a quote from 'Road to Perdition' that comes to mind. ‘A man of honor always pays his debts…and keeps his word.’ That’s just pretty much paraphrasing what my dad has always told us.”

“Seems like good advice.”

“I suppose so. There’s another one about honor too, from Robb Roy…great movie…’All men with honor are kings. But not all kings have honor.’ That’s a good thing to remember too.”

“Very true…and yes, I’m willing to listen to all things Liam Neeson wants to tell me.”

“You’d better…or he will find you and…”

“Yes, yes. No doubt,” she says, laughing at his joke. “So, you’re an honorable guy, huh?”

“Not always, but I try."

“Speaking of, do you like the movie ‘With Honors?’ There’s a quote from that I kind of like.”

“There are a lot of great ones. Which did you have in mind?”

“It’s ‘Winners forget they’re in a race, they just love to run.’”

“Do you just love to run?”

“No, I like winning too. I’m competitive.” She hears him laugh. “But it’s a good reminder to just enjoy it for itself.”

“It is. I can be pretty competitive too.”

“Okay, then. Beat this one.”

“Oh, ho, ho!”

“Shh…I’m quoting over here. ‘Oh yes, the past can hurt. But you can either run from it, or learn from it.’”

“Oh, that is quite the gauntlet thrown down. ’The Lion King’…that’s just perfection.”

“I’m taking my bow over here.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Allow me to wow you.”

“Do try.”

She hears him clear his throat. "‘Look, in my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you. The right person is still going to think the sun shines out of your ass. That’s the kind person that’s worth sticking with.’"

“You’re quoting ‘Juno.’ I am sufficiently wowed.”

“Mic drop.”

“Oh, brother.”

“Yes, how’d you know?”

“What?” she asks, confused.

“My brother…I saw that movie with he and his girlfriend but he likes to quote that scene to me periodically.”

“Um…okay.”

“He’s more successful than I…anyway, hit me with another quote.”

“Hmm…’You can’t live your life for other people. You’ve got to do what’s right for you, even if it hurts some people you love.’ That’s from ‘The Notebook.’ Being here at school, it…well, it was definitely my choice, not my dad’s.”

“He didn’t want you to go to school?”

“Well, not here anyway. It’s not as close as he’d like and it’s not his alma mater.”

“We read ‘Perks of Being a Wallflower’ in one of my classes recently, so of course I had to see the movie and see if Hermione could let loose some.”

“You weren’t disappointed, I take it?”

“No. But there’s a similar quote that goes ‘You can’t just sit there and put everybody’s lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love.’ That one’s powerful too.”

“It certainly is.”

“I’m sorry we’re waxing poetic about too many movies.”

“It’s okay. I like movies. It’s interesting to think of some of the memorable quotes.”

“Do you have another then?”

Brienne laughs a bit nervously. “Actually, now I’m drawing a blank just because I said that."

“That’s always the way. Well, let’s end then on one I’m sure you’ll recognize…probably too cliche to mention but it doesn’t make it unrelatable. ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.’”

“Ferris. Yeah, that one’s timeless. And true.” She’s thinking about how fast this research block has actually gone.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna try to do my best not to miss it."

“Same.” She pauses for a moment, filing this feeling of connectedness with another human away in her mental warm, fuzzy feelings file. "Alright. Final question, I guess.” She tries to sound more chipper than she feels. In truth, she is more than a bit sad their conversation is coming to its end. She doesn’t have any right to feel deserving of more or anything. She knows what she signed up for. She’d been dreading it before. But now she finds herself wishing it was a more extensive experience. She doesn’t want to stop talking with this man. It’s been the most pleasant conversation she’s had in a long time and certainly the most pleasant she’s ever had with a stranger. While she’s had pleasant discourse with some guys before, even surprisingly those outside her immediate family and family friend circle, this one feels like it ranks pretty high up there. Renly, as much as she enjoys their friendship, can be quite self-absorbed and she doesn’t always feel super heard by him, especially if Loras is around. Talking with 9 for this past hour, she has felt heard...seen without being seen maybe. 

“I guess we are about to run out. Well, this last one’s maybe a bit loaded. I think we can give it as much attention as we feel it’s due. Okay?”

“Okay.” Does he sound unenthused about reaching the end of their call too or is that just wishful thinking on her part?

“What’s on your bucket list?"

They sit staring at their blank screens in silence for several moments, listening to each other’s quiet breaths. “That is loaded.”

“Certainly. I know we’re both young, but I think we both know that a future’s never promised.”

“No, it’s not.”

“So, have you thought about the things you want to do before your time is up? Or at least the things you don’t want to miss out on doing?”

“Of course. I want to travel. I want to ride across the Great Grass Sea on horseback and I want to climb the Wall near Eastwatch.”

“Do you want to fight a bear?” he jokes, recalling their earlier banter about such.

“Not really, no. Maybe I could ride on the back of a camel or an elephant or something. That would be an experience.”

“Ooh, good idea. I’d like to swim with a dolphin.”

“I’ve done that.”

“Of course you have, Miss Summer Sea.” 

It makes her smile that he remembers her earliest answer. “You should do it. They’re beautiful, amazing creatures and such graceful swimmers.”

“I’m beyond sold. What else is on your list?”

“Hmm…I want to run a marathon.”

“Me too.”

“I want to help people. I guess…I want to make a life-changing difference in at least one person’s life.”

“That’s an important, noble goal. We should all want that. You’ve probably already accomplished it but may not know it yet.”

“That’s a nice thought.”

“My brother has suggested we hang glide from the Eyrie sometime. What do you think of that thought?”

“Kind of crazy…thrilling and adventurous, for sure. Good bucket list stuff, I guess.”

“I want to drive a race car sometime…feel that speed at least once.”

“I want to graduate with honors.”

“Something tells me you will. I want to be my own boss someday, sooner versus later.”

“I think I’d like that too.”

“I want to rescue someone from something sometime.”

“Maybe you could rescue your brother from his Eyrie idea.”

He chuckles. “Maybe.”

“I like that one though. I’m adding it to mine.”

“You’re welcome. I want to sing karaoke.”

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“Did you do it by yourself or as part of a group?”

“Group.”

“Maybe it’s better done solo.”

“I doubt it but you go on and live your dream.”

“I guess a more serious living dream is just one of the standards. I want to find the person I want to wake up to each morning and have children eventually.”

“The person who thinks the sun shines out of your ass?”

“That’s the one!” he exclaims with a hearty laugh.

She laughs with him for a moment and then becomes serious again. “I…think I’d say that’s on my list too."

The scratchy sound of an intercom invades the quiet of Brienne’s room. “I’m sorry, participants 6284 and 9245. Your rooms will soon be needed for our next set of study participants. Please complete your conversation. We will be bringing your surveys in to you in just a few minutes. Once you complete those, you will be excused. Thank you.” Sansa does actually sound sorry. Brienne wonders how much of their conversation has already been overheard. She sighs inwardly just as 9 does so outwardly on the other side of the computer. 

“I guess that last list item was our swan song.”

“I guess so.”

“It’s been really nice talking with you, 6. I kind of wish, well…” He clears his throat. “I, um, wish you well with all those things on your list.”

“Oh, I wish you well with all of yours too. And, yes, thank you for a very pleasant conversation, 9. Take care.”

“You too.”

“Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

She clicks the ‘end call’ button on the screen reluctantly and then sits back and takes a deep breath. It feels surreal that that amazing conversation just happened. It feels sad that she won’t get to hear that honey smooth voice again. Sansa interrupts her thoughts when she enters the room with a tentative smile on her face. She sits a sheet of paper down in front of Brienne along with a pencil, places her hand briefly on her shoulder, and then leaves the room again. Brienne picks up the pencil and sets about answering the questions as honestly and helpfully as she can. Bottom line - did she find 9 attractive? Hell yes, she did.

The next night, she and her best friend are splitting some take out in Brienne’s room. Sansa’s probably not supposed to talk with her about her observations of the study in too much detail, but Sansa’s never been one to hold back her observations.

“You guys were into each other.”

“We connected.”

“It was amazing. So much better than Margaery and I even hoped for.”

“I’m sure other participants did a good job too.”

“Oh, they did. In general, this has been very successful. But you guys…”

“What about us?”

“I just…I’m kind of sorry we put you in a position where you are to remain anonymous from each other.”

Brienne looks down at her food and thinks about that. “I’m not.”

“You don’t think you’d get along out in the real world?”

“No, I do…maybe…I don’t know. He’s probably superbly handsome and would take one look at me and walk the other way, let alone want to converse anymore.”

“I hate that you do that, you know.”

“I know.”

“And I think you’re wrong.”

“You’re an optimist.”

“He really enjoyed your conversation too.”

“I’m…glad to hear it.”

Sansa narrows her eyes at her a bit, purses her lips, and then smiles, digging into her container for another bite of food. Brienne should recognize that look on her face or be suspicious of how soon after her friend has let the topic drop. It isn’t until her friend has left for the evening and Brienne has gotten ready for bed that she notices the piece of paper peeping out from beneath her bed near where Sansa and her backpack had been sitting. She picks it up warily, having an idea of what it is before she turns it over and knows for sure. While it might have been an accident that this very study survey fell out of her friend’s pack, Brienne wasn’t born yesterday and she highly doubts it. Biting her lip and looking around her as if anyone is there to judge her in that moment (she lives in a single room for a reason), she lets her eyes drop to the paper. 

She likes his handwriting. It's neat and precise. That's her first thought. She sits down on her bed as she begins to read his responses. She'd rated him similarly high for perceived intelligence. He thinks she is in good physical health. She’d thought the same of him. His scores for her worldliness, kindness, sense of humor, and academic success are all flattering and in line with how she’d rated him. He’s guessed rather accurately at her level of popularity, at least as she sees it. Her wish for invisibility and her talk of her dioramas probably clued him in. She’d guessed he was more on the popular end. It's the final question and free form response she both does and does not want to see. She looks away for a long moment before telling herself she’s gone this far. She might as well see the rest. 

_“Based on your conversation, how attractive do you find your partner to be?”_

_A) Very attractive_

_B) Somewhat attractive_

_C) Not attractive_

He’s circled “very attractive.” She blinks, staring at the words in print but finding them hard to believe. 

_"Tell us what this experience was like for you and any other thoughts you had about your conversation partner."_

_"I didn’t want to stop talking with her. It was maybe the best conversation I’ve ever had with someone of the opposite sex…or maybe anyone, really. 6 seemed like someone very real. Honest, adventurous, smart, funny, fun, a good person. I found her very attractive. I get the sense she may not think that of herself. I know some, well, model-types that the world would certainly rate as an 11 of 10 for physical attractiveness but if I were in a blind conversation like this with them, I’d rate them not attractive. For what it’s worth. I like something like this…getting to see how someone can really appeal to you or not appeal to you based on who they really are. If there’s any need for the researchers to learn more through another session or something, I’d be more than happy to get to pair off with 6 again. You don’t have any plans for us to get to meet our partners face to face, do you? I’d definitely be in for that."_

Brienne puts the paper down next to her and shuts her eyes. Then she opens them again and picks up the paper again to reread. She takes out her phone and takes a photo of the survey. Sansa will need it back but she can’t help but want to keep a copy of it as a good memory. Surely that’s all it can ever be.

Sansa doesn’t seem to think so though. When she gives her back the survey the next day and also gives her a fair amount of crap for messing with the integrity of her own study, her friend waves her hand in dismissal and says it's fine. They’ve gotten the data they needed and have done everything right to get it. What happens after is of no consequence. And besides, she hasn’t betrayed anonymity. Only 9’s number is attached to his survey. Brienne acknowledges that this is true but denies that there will be any more for Sansa to witness. 

“He wants to meet you.”

“Yes, face-to-face. Mine is not the face to anticipate seeing.”

“You read what he said, right? About the people he knows that are model attractive that he finds unattractive as humans?”

“Yes, but that’s all well and good to put down on paper. When he saw me, he’d flinch and think otherwise.”

Sansa lets out a long sigh. “I love you, Brienne. But you need to start opening yourself up to the idea that not everyone is as shallow as some of the assholes you’ve unfortunately encountered in your life.”

“I know that.”

“You half know that. You’ll see. And once you do, you’ll exclaim ’Sansa, you were sooooo right!’” She loops her arm with Brienne’s and Brienne laughs and shakes her head at her friend’s silliness. 

“I doubt I’ll ever make that exclamation.”

“We’ll see.”

“Don’t do anything ridiculous,” Brienne warns. 

“I’m not. I won’t. I just feel like this experience should encourage you to be a bit more open, to walk a bit taller…”

“I’m not tall enough?” Brienne jokes.

“You know what I mean. I just have a good feeling, like your conversation with 9 was fateful in some way.”

“Oh, my. You should start reading non-fiction.”

Brienne does find it hard to get her friend’s words, and 9’s, out of her head for the rest of the week. It’s a waste of time and she knows it but they still stick with her, even as she starts work on a new diorama that weekend. It's a happy surprise to her that she is asked to create one representing Queen Nymeria leading her people to Dorne. She is enthused given that the fascinating woman is fresh on her mind from her study conversation with 9. Brienne sets to work in the designated exhibit space. It isn’t private and that used to bother her more but she’s found that people usually just try to stare around her for a few moments and then ascertain there isn’t a full display they're missing and move on. Patrons enjoy the different exhibits but don’t usually have a lot of interest in the process that goes into creating that which they're viewing. Toward the end of her shift, she's feeling pretty pleased with the amount she’s accomplished. She still has finishing touches to put on it the next day but she feels the scene is recognizable and the museum will queue up the coinciding educational video to play on the screen next to the display to further explain it. As she is placing some more paper flames strategically on the ships, she thinks she feels eyes on her again but she just tries to ignore it. When she hears the humming start, she finds herself unable to ignore that.

She does automatically smile when she hears it but then she frowns. It feels odd and out of place there at the museum and next to her exhibit. Unless… 

She takes a deep breath and then turns to glance over her shoulder to see who is humming. Brienne almost clumsily crushes one of the ships she’s worked so hard on. She knows she's starting to blink owlishly. The man is gorgeous. His bronzed skin, his strong forearms, his somewhat long and curly blond hair. She holds in a near-hysterical laugh that wants to bubble forth wondering if Sansa has sent him as a joking argument for the merits of fiction and the men who grace the covers of the books Sansa enjoys reading so much. He has the most enchanting green eyes…oh, eyes! They're holding hers. She probably looks like a deer in headlights. She turns her body to follow her eyes and stands up.

“That song,” she says dumbly.

“‘Goodnight, My Angel’…do I have the tune correct?” 

She knows that voice. Oh, gods! “Yes.”

He moves closer, smiles uncertainly, looks past her at her hard work of the past several hours, and then smiles even bigger. “6?”

She could lie. Of course, they are sharing a song memory and he is staring at her homage to her “dine with someone in history” figure. She’s told him she creates dioramas at the museums and oh, there is no point in lying. She nods slowly instead. “9?”

He bites his lip a bit and then grins at her. Are his teeth actually sparkling? The white of them is certainly a bit blinding. Looking at him at all is a bit blinding! She fights the urge to turn away again. He is so good-looking! And he is still looking at her…with no sign of flinching, she notes. He holds his hand out and she takes it after staring at it for several idiotic moments first. “My name is Jaime, actually. Jaime Lannister. Maybe I’ll have to get a small tattoo of a 9 somewhere though for the fond memory that holds.” 

He has a strong, warm grip and she tries to return it. He is staring at her expectantly and she has to give herself another inner kickstart. “I’m Brienne. Brienne Tarth.”

They slowly release each other’s hands. 

“Brienne, I hope I don’t seem like a creep coming here. I mean, I’ve always come here. I like the museum and history like I told you during our conversation.”

“Right. You did.” Of course. He hasn’t come to find her or anything. It is just a coincidence.

“But I did hope I might somehow get to find you here. I asked if there were any new dioramas in the works and the front desk pointed me here.”

Oh. 

She doesn’t know what to say to that.

“It looks great, the diorama,” Jaime continues. 

“Thank you.”

“Did you suggest it?”

“No. The museum requested it…it was interesting timing.”

“Queen Nymeria would be pleased.”

She knows she is blushing…a lot. “Do you want to see it more closely?” she asks shyly.

He nods and she thinks he might actually be blushing to a small degree too. She moves aside a bit as he moves forward and steps over the barrier at the front of the display. Usually, museum visitors aren’t supposed to do that but she’s just basically given him permission to do so. Even closer up, she notices that they are very close in height. He is maybe an inch shorter than her but they can definitely look each other in the eyes. Which is an intense thing she feels terrified by. He mustn't though. He seems to want to study her eyes even more than he wants to study the diorama. She turns and points out a few of the finer details and he comments on them as well, complimenting her again on some of them. He smells really good. After a few minutes, one of her fellow volunteers, Gilly, happens by and does a double take seeing she and Jaime talking and then gives her a thumbs up and a sly smile. Then, however, she warns Brienne that she’s seen the head of the museum making his rounds. Brienne gives Jaime an apologetic smile but he nods in understanding and steps back over the barrier to the visitor side of the exhibit. 

“I don’t want to get you in trouble. I’ll leave you to your work. I just…” He reaches into his pocket and produces a small piece of paper and hands it to her. She takes it with shaking fingers. “During our conversation the other day, when you asked if you should just call me 9, I wanted to respond that ‘you should just call me.’ That sounds like a cheesy line, I know, but it’s true. I really enjoyed our conversation. I’d like to have more of those with you. For that one question we answered, there’s another movie quote that we didn’t talk about too but maybe we should. It’s from ’The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.’ ‘Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.’ I don’t want to miss this opportunity to get to know you better. If you don’t either, that’s my real number. Please call or text me, Brienne Tarth.”

She likes the way her name sounds on his lips. She likes everything about him that she knows and sees so far. She looks down at his name and number written on the piece of paper and she folds it carefully and tucks it into her pocket as she looks back up at him, meets his amazing eyes and nods. “I’ll do that, Jaime Lannister."

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Jaime did pre-write his pocket paper o' digits and he did practice his little quote speech with Tyrion that morning. He was absolutely going to visit every local museum he could that weekend in the hopes of finding his 6. No, Brienne is not going to lose the little piece of paper or any of that idiotic drama. She's going to text him later that night after pacing her room for about an hour and working herself up to it. Eventually, she's going to determine that the sun does in fact shine out of his ass. He'll argue that it can't because it obviously shines out of hers. They'll agree to disagree.


End file.
